Memories
by Inuluvr
Summary: The light was dim, and the air stale. She couldn't remember where she was, how she had gotten there, or what she had been doing. But when Claire meets an old friend, she knows one thing only: this time, they were leaving together. StevexClaire
1. Chapter 1

The blurry dim light-- it was the first thing Claire saw when she woke. She scanned the room, listening for any sign of someone—or something—else in the room. There was a steady low hum of some machinery, perhaps something with a bubbler. Claire moved her eyes to look around, but they were betraying her; she could only see blurs of color. She lay numbly on the cold steel ground, waiting for her body to regain feeling. A sharp pain surged through her body as she tried to push herself off the ground, and with a soft moan, she lowered herself back down.

Her vision was becoming more acute; the room surrounding her was sharpening and her eyes were adjusting to the darkness. Sucking in air, she bit her lip and sat up, letting out only a small cry as the pain overwhelmed her. Her body was sore, as though it had been beaten, and her head split into an excruciating ache. She was now sure of one thing, and one thing only: she had been hit over the head. Hard. And with something dull, but heavy. Claire closed her eyes, trying to filter out the pain so she could concentrate on the current situation.

What her situation was, of course, she wasn't sure. Instinctively, she slowly reached for her comfort, only to find that it was missing from its holster. _Shit. Of course it's gone. Having a fully functional weapon would be too easy._ She opened her eyes, relieved to find that her vision was almost completely recovered. Another wave of relief washed over her as her eyes landed on the familiar gun laying mere feet from where she sat. A sudden flash—she remembered her gun being knocked out of her hand. She had run to retrieve it when… darkness. She blinked. Obviously, that's when she had been hit, but she wanted to know more. How, and what, had knocked her out, but left her to live?

_Enough of trying to remember. The memories will come when they're ready… but first…_ Claire reached into her pocket and pulled out a green plant she had stashed away. She didn't remember putting it there, but she was happy to have found something of use in her satchel. She chewed it slowly, wincing as the bitterness of the plant filled her mouth, but relaxing as the warmth of the plant's anesthesia flooded through her body.

Feeling stronger, she slowly stood up and surveyed the room. The walls were rusty cold steel like the floor, and the contents of the room suggested it had once been used as a boiler room. There were at least three levels that she could see, all connected with now-rusted metal ladders. Pipes wound through the room in a large maze, limiting her sight. She ducked under the nearest pipe and picked up her gun, glancing at the towering boilers and water pumps. Boiler rooms had always given her the creeps, but seeing an abandoned one… Claire shivered and returned to where ducked back under the pipe. She had hoped that something might jog her memory, but as she recognized nothing around her, that hope was beginning to fade.

As she wandered around the room, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something… someone. What if she had been with someone when she had been knocked out? Who would it have been? And where were they now? She held her breath as she saw a streak of blood she hadn't noticed before. Kneeling down, Claire ran her fingers through the drying red smear. Making a face, she rubbed it off on her jeans. It wasn't too old—maybe an hour or two. She hadn't sustained any wounds that would have produced that amount of blood, which meant….

A loud bang in the next room made Claire jump and instinctively reach for her gun. Several moments of silence followed, and she carefully and quietly slid herself against the wall. She couldn't see a door from where she stood, but the noise definitely hadn't come from the room she was in. Staying low and close the wall, she sidled across the room, her gun out and pointed up. If something was planning on jumping out at her, she was ready. She stopped as she came to a door, originally hidden from her view. She stepped away from the wall, and put her hand on the handle. A memory flashed in front of her eyes.

_"Stay back, we don't know what could be behind this door…" _ A male voice. Then, the clicking of the knob as it was turned. "_Damn, it's locked. We'll have to find another way out…"_ She couldn't see the face, but her partner turned to her and started suddenly. "_Claire, watch out!" _

Claire shook her head and tried to remember. The voice… she knew she should know it. It wasn't Chris, was it? She forced her mind back to the present. She was standing with her hand grasped firmly on the knob. "Here goes nothing," she muttered to herself. Bracing herself, she turned the handle, and finding it unlocked, pushed the door in. This room was even darker than the one she had just left. She stood in the doorway, gun pointed into the black nothingness as she waited for her eyes to adjust. Sliding against the wall, she found a light switch and flicked it on. At first nothing happened, then the entire room flickered to life, shedding light on the gruesome scene in front of her.

Claire slid to the floor, eyes wide and her body trembling. In front of her, blood was spattered everywhere. Several large transparent columns contained beasts preserved in clear liquid—beasts that she suspected had once been human, mutilated by the viruses. The rows were oriented in circles, wrapping around the center of the room. At the dead center, one single column, slightly larger than the rest, hummed. As she moved towards the middle, she felt uneasy. The humming she had heard when she first woke was much louder now, and she realized with terror that the things inside the columns were… alive. They were unconscious, but breathing. Gathering her strength, she stood up and stepped towards the contained monster. She put her hand on the glass wall, feeling the vibrations beneath her fingers. Her eyes examined the smooth and grotesque reptilian but human body. This one had been infected by the T-Veronica virus. She recognized… the mutations. Her heart sank as she remembered her partner on Ashford Island, and their last moments together. She wanted nothing more than to kill these creatures and put them out of their misery. She knew how Steve had suffered…

Blinking back tears, Claire stepped over to the next tank, and the next one. It seemed as though something huge would be waiting for her in the center. Something dangerous… something deadly. She stepped from the last row, glancing at the last few monsters. When her eyes fixed on the center container, her heart turned to ice. The tears she had been fighting so hard rolled down her cheeks. She sank to her knees, her eyes never leaving the body curled inside the tank.

The body—perfectly human, was attached to the large tube by several wires and a large oxygen mask. Periodically, bubbles plumed as the human exhaled. The boy's red hair floated peacefully in the liquid, and his crystal clear blue eyes were open, fixed on nothingness.

"It can't be…." Claire muttered to herself. "It can't be," She repeated. Slowly, her body trembling, she got to her feet and stepped towards her friend. She placed her fingers on the glass and closed her eyes. She opened them again and stared at the man's face. "It's been so long…" Leaning her forehead on the cold glass, she tried to quiet her sobbing.

"To think…. You were alive all this time…..Steve."


	2. Chapter 2

Claire now knew that she was in some sort of research facility, but who it belonged to or what it was used for was still a mystery. She also knew from experience that the glass separating her from her long-lost friend was bullet-proof. She had to find a different way to free Steve from his hibernation. Quickly, she glanced around the room for anything that would help her. Her eyes landed on a nearby computer monitor with a blinking light. She holstered her gun and walked over to the monitor.

With a quick jerk of the mouse, the screen came to life, requesting a password. "Shit…" she murmured. Steve was here until she could find a password for one of the old employees here. She spun around as a loud noise crashed behind her. Three enhanced hunters surrounded her, breathing heavily in low growls.

Rapidly, Claire grabbed her gun and shot at the hunter on the far left. The direct hit sent it reeling backwards, letting out a pained screech and killing it relatively quickly. The middle hunter leapt at her with a wild roar. She rolled out of its way and shot three bullets into its reptilian hide. Without a struggle, the beast slumped to the floor. Claire turned back to the last one, which was now gone.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she looked for the creature lurking in the shadows. She spun in her place several times, only hearing her panicked heartbeat in the suffocating silence. A flash of movement caught her eye, and before she could respond, she found herself pinned to the ground, powerful jaws gnashing at her. Holding the beast back with her arms, she knew she couldn't avoid the creature's persistent attacks much longer. Curling her legs, she kicked the hunter in the stomach, throwing it onto its back. They both scrambled to their feet, and Claire raised her gun as they circled one another. She shot it at point blank, and the hunter collapsed to the ground. Breathing heavily, she listened for any other movement. When she heard nothing, she holstered her gun and walked past the bodies.

She walked back over to the computer, quickly glancing at it to make sure it hadn't changed status. The small screen waited patiently, PASSWORD: written in bold, white letters followed by a small blinking cursor. She walked past the screen, pausing as she reached Steve's column and noticing that his eyes were now shut. Sadly sighing, she forced herself to move on to find a new exit. She was hesitant to leave Steve behind, fearing that something might happen to him if she left. But there was nothing for her to do without a password, and so she resolved to find the information she needed and return here as quickly as possible.

When she found another door, she pulled out her gun and placed her other hand on the door. Quickly swinging it open, she ran into the room and backed herself against the wall. She swung her gun around, searching for movement. When she saw none, she lowered her weapon and took in the details of the room.

It seemed as though she had finally entered the main building, or rather a hallway of the main building. Though it still looked industrial, the ceiling was more finished and the walls painted like any other common office building. The passage was well lit and several offices lined the sides of the hallway. She looked at the names labeled over the doors as she passed. There were offices for people of all positions here—ranging from secretaries to top researchers. Fury boiled up inside as she saw one was designated for a top researcher by the name of Albert Wesker. In passing it, she flipped a friendly hand wave at the sign, only wishing that the real Wesker was still alive to see it. When she reached the end of the hallway, she found it T-d into a much longer hallway. Sighing, she glanced at the directional signs on the wall. To her left, Management and HR, to her right, Employee Quarters and main secretary offices. Deciding that Employee Quarters would be where she'd find more personal information, she headed to the right hoping that some forgetful employee had written down his security information so she could use it. She glanced at both sides to make sure that nothing was lying in wait and jogged to the right. It was odd—the building was definitely abandoned…. infested, and yet… there were no bodies around. When she reached the Employee's Quarters, Claire found that the door was unlocked and she walked briskly inside tightening her grip on her handgun.

As she opened the door, a putrid smell of death and rotting flesh overwhelmed her and she gagged instinctively. Ah yes, the wonderful smell of the zombies she had (unhappily) grown used to after working with the living dead so many times. She heard a distinct moan, and seeing the figure ambling toward her, nonchalantly shot it in the head. She didn't mind simple T-virus zombies. It was the intelligent creatures that really made her nervous.

The room she had just entered was once what many employees had called home. The main room looked as though it had been pleasant enough when it had been in use, but now everything was covered in blood and rotting and decaying bodies were strewn around on the floor. Just across the way there was another door clearly labeled "BUNKS." She walked past a grungy-looking couch and stepped over a smashed TV, avoiding the shards of glass spilled on the floor. Half the room seemed to have been a recreational room, while the other half was once utilized as a kitchen. She stepped into the kitchen section and crinkled her nose at the stained room. The tile floor, once a sparkling white was now a dulled copper, and as Claire examined the shelves, she found rotted food and rat-nibbled containers. She scowled at the buzzing flies and stepped back out into the "family room" of the quarters. Upon reaching the door to the bunk rooms, she scanned the room one last time and walked through the door.

She dispatched the few zombies as she entered, and glanced at the setup. It was similar to the hallway of offices, but much longer and with many more doors on either side. She knew it would probably take a while to search for a clue, but there was nothing else she could do. And this time, she wasn't leaving without Steve.

Sighing, she tried the door immediately to her left and finding it open, walked in. The room looked like something one might find in a dorm-- a symmetrical layout of the room, desks and beds on either side. She rifled through the various papers and finding nothing of use, walked back out across the hallway and into the next room. It was an exact copy of the first, but this one had a dead body in one of the beds. _Lovely,_ she thought to herself. Wincing at the smell, she searched through the room, but to no avail. She continued down, until she reached one room with a journal on the desk. Curious, she opened the book and flipped through the pages. Claire paused as she recognized a date. October 1st, 1998. She read the entry for that day.

_October 1, 1998_

_Something terrible has happened. I can feel it. The managers haven't let us go home to visit our families for almost a month now. They say they need the help, but I'm not the only one with suspicions. There are too many people twiddling their thumbs in the hallway for us to be short of hands. Maybe there's been some kind of accident in the lab, maybe they don't want us to leave in case we've been contaminated. Well, whatever the reason, they can't hide it forever. I guess I'll just have to wait until next week to go and visit my baby and my dear Marie._

With a sinking feeling, she turned to the next page. It was dated October 3, 1998.

_October 3, 1998_

_ My original suspicions were right. Something terrible did happen, but God knows I wish it had happened to me. Our research—the research Umbrella Corp. had sent us, that terrible virus that killed everyone it came in contact with…leaked into Raccoon. I got a letter today telling me that the city was destroyed, and that only a few made it out alive. I've tried calling Marie, but she hasn't answered her phone. I've been told that this is my new home… and that even if she and little Anna were still alive… they wouldn't be allowed to talk to me ever again. I know too much._

Claire turned the page, and found that the next post was in December of that year—though no exact date was listed.

_December 1998_

_ I haven't touched this journal since the news of my dear Marie and Anna's death in October. My wounds have been reopened by the new experiment that arrived today. It was collected by Dr. Wesker himself, and arrived dead—or so we thought. As a researcher, I'm not allowed to disclose any information as to how we brought him back, not even in this personal entry… but the procedures were gruesome, and the poor kid suffered so much pain I could hardly bear to do my job. I've grown accustomed to the sickening screams of the animals as we test them, but the fact that this boy still had his humanity… his mind… made the pain insufferable. I only pray that he can make a full recovery, so that Dr. Wesker will decide to keep him around to see how he pulls through with the treatment. But if his survival means more hell, I might have to kill the poor boy myself. He's so young… I'm afraid that his psychological state will be unstable._

_P.S. Since the new subject arrived, he has been talking nonstop in his sleep. It's depressing. He cries out for Claire—I wonder if she was his sister? Girlfriend? When he wakes up, I want to ask him. I know what it's like being separated from the ones you love, and if I could help him at all…_

_Oh, and the security system has been updated. They promise this is the last time. _

_Password: DM104F __ this is only to be used when he wakes up. _

Feeling weak, she sat down on the chair behind the desk. _Steve was in pain… and the only thing he wanted was…..me._ She closed her eyes, repressing her tears. This time it would be different. She swore to herself that either they would escape together or die together. Either way, they would never be separated again.

Gathering her strength, Claire grabbed the journal and walked out of the room. She briskly made her way back to the main quarters room, and stepping over the dead bodies, she entered the hallway again. As she made her way back to Steve, her mind was reeling with questions. What did they do to Steve? Was he still human after everything they had done to him? And if he wasn't….. if he had lost his mind to the virus… Claire shivered. She knew what would happen. She would be his main target, and that would make him her gun's. Her body trembled slightly at the thought. She didn't know if she would be able to do it. She could imagine herself pinned against the wall… nowhere to run, and Steve's mutated form closing in on her. Her gun raised, her hand shaking uncontrollably, she'd squeeze the trigger and—

A sudden force rammed into Claire, knocking her against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her, and she struggled to breathe as she looked around the room. She had gotten back into the first hallway without realizing it. She was almost back with Steve. Coughing, she pulled out her gun, and using the wall as support, got to her feet. The door was only a hundred paces away… if she could make a run for it, she might not even have to deal with her hidden assailant.

Preparing herself, she fixed her gaze on the door. 3….2….1…. her foot hit the pavement hard as she bolted towards the door. She was almost there…. just a few more seconds….. A large claw came down from the ceiling and sliced her shoulder open. Claire cried out and stumbled as the sharp pain shot through her body. She turned towards the monster hanging above and shot three bullets in its general direction, her eyes too clouded with pain to give her an accurate shot. A loud screech told her that at least one of the bullets had hit the mark as she reached the door. She yanked the door open and started in, and paused, letting her curiosity get the better of her. She looked back to see what exactly had attacked her, and her heart sank. A scaly purple creature was struggling to its feet behind her, blood dripping from its claws. A sweeper. She was poisoned.

Slamming the door behind her, Claire slumped to the floor. She reached a hand to her wound and winced as pain flamed from her wound. The poison was already doing its work. She let her head fall back against the wall as she tried to gather the energy to move. She was already feeling its effects—she felt light headed and queasy, and her vision swam with the slightest movement. But she had to save Steve. She wasn't going to let anything get in the way of their reunion, even if it meant she would die shortly thereafter.

Dragging herself to the computer, she entered in the password. The screen flashed a welcome screen, addressing her as Anthony from Lab D. She navigated through the various pages until she reached what she was looking for—information on Experiment: Steve. It didn't say much more than a brief summary of his medical background, and his current state (listed as hibernation), but at the bottom were actions she could take. Her mouse hovered over the option "Release." Taking a sharp breath, she clicked it and turned slowly as the whirring of machinery filled the room.

With the last bit of her energy, Claire stumbled over to Steve's container. She could see the water rapidly draining, and she put her hands and forehead against the glass wall. She was so close… she could make it… he would be there so soon… She stepped back as the final bits of water were drained and the glass wall began to rise. Steve was now standing but was still unconscious. The wires connecting him to the machine were dropping to hang loosely, releasing him from the machine. As the glass wall raised the last few feet, the oxygen mask (which had been holding him standing upright until now) released from his face. Claire watched as the body crumpled to the floor and rolled off the platform. Barely conscious, she walked slowly over to him and dropped to her knees beside his body.

She reached a shaky hand to his neck, and felt for a pulse. Her vision was blurring and she couldn't feel a pulse. Tears dripped from her eyes as she pulled the body to hers and cradled his head in her arms. She looked at the boy's body, ignoring the lower extremities. He looked perfectly healthy… but his body…. was cold. Everything around her was spinning now, but she fought the poison with all her might.

"Steve…" she murmured to the boy's unmoving body, "I thought… everything…was going to turn out right this time…. I-I'm…. sorry…" Her body was finally giving in, and the numbness had already set in when her head hit the steel floor. She lost conscious quickly, and her body burned with fever.

Everything in the room was silent. Nothing moved besides a small mouse that skittered across the floor, pausing as it reached the two human bodies lying on the floor. It cautiously crept closer. Two icy blue eyes snapped open and the pupils fixed on the mouse. Within an instant only one thing was left moving in the room, and it wasn't the mouse.


	3. Chapter 3

Claire woke with a start, her entire body jumping as though waking from a bad dream. Her hand was grasping onto the sheets of the bed, and the other tightly gripped the pillow that her head had been resting on. She began to sit up, but paused. Blankets? A pillow? She looked down at what she was laying on. …A bed?

Slowly, she swung her feet over the edge of the cot and surveyed the room. It looked like a small infirmary—not particularly well-lit or clean, but a small hospital room nonetheless. She shook her head, trying to clear her blurred mind. She had been with Steve…

An overwhelming sadness enveloped her as she thought of the strawberry brunette. It had all been a dream. She knew she had been in the research facility, but it didn't make sense that she had seen him again. She had just dreamed him. Sighing, she rubbed her hands over her face. She wanted to know what was going on. She still couldn't remember what she had been doing in the lab, or who she had been with.

She paused; maybe Chris was in the next room? If anything ever happened to her, he was almost always the first one dropping what he was doing to find her, or stand by her side. He was a good brother to have. If anyone would be able to explain things to her, it would be him.

Encouraged by the thought of seeing her brother, she tried to stand, but found that her legs were too weak to support her weight. With a small cry, she fell ungracefully to the ground. She glanced desperately around the room for something to help her get back up, but seeing nothing, she called out for help.

"Chris?" Surprised at how feeble her voice sounded, she tried a little more force. "Chris?" The door swung open, and a black boot stepped into the room. She lowered her head as a sharp pain shot from her shoulder.

"Chris… I'm glad you're here…" She squeezed her eyes shut. She could hear the boots hit the floor as he jogged over to her side.

"Claire! You shouldn't be out of bed! You haven't healed completely yet!" It wasn't Chris's voice. She felt two strong arms wrap around her body and pick her off the ground. When she was laid back onto the bed, she opened her eyes to see two cool blue eyes peering at her. The boy smiled warmly at her. "Glad to see you've regained consciousness, though! Didja miss me?"

"S-Steve! You are alive!" She struggled to sit up, but he put a firm hand on her uninjured shoulder and lightly pushed her back onto the mattress. "I know it's been a long time, but you're in no shape to get excited right now. Just calm down, we'll have plenty of time to talk after you've rested a little more." She knew he was right, and let out a long sigh.

"Steve…" He pulled the covers over her body and pulled a chair beside the bed. "Hush. C'mon. Get some real sleep. Being knocked out by a fever doesn't count." He placed his cool hand on her burning head and muttered something to himself. "Your fever is going up again… I'm going to get you some medicine." She watched as he stood and walked to the other side of the room. He rummaged through a cabinet until he produced a bottle of clear liquid. "Here it is; the antidote." He pulled out a gauze sponge and doused it with the medicine before returning to her side. "This may sting a little…" He gently rubbed the antidote onto the closed wound, and Claire winced as the infection burned and stung sharply. While she watched him, a sudden fatigue began to creep over her body.

"The wound seems to be a little infected… " Carefully, he examined her shoulder and frowned. "Claire… I think I may have to re-open the wound. It doesn't look good right now, and I don't want the infection to spread." He looked at her earnestly. "I don't want to hurt you, but… it's probably best to give it a more proper cleaning. I didn't get a good chance to clean it when it was open, and I was hoping that it'd be ok with just the antidote. But now…" He trailed off and cast his eyes to the ground. He looked up when she didn't answer. "Claire?"

Claire could feel the fever burning her body again. She was dizzy, and her eyes were fading in and out of focus as Steve talked. She tried to respond, but found herself fading into darkness. Her body started trembling. Silence was closing in, but in the back of her mind, she could hear Steve calling her name in alarm. She was pulled from the darkness, however, when an icy knife sliced through her shoulder. Letting out a pained cry, she writhed under the covers as blood seeped from her opened wound. She could feel her body being restrained—presumably by Steve—while he cleaned and dressed her injury.

When Steve finished, the pain continued to linger and she could feel her entire body growing weaker and weaker. The silence began to settle again, and she heard Steve's distant voice. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but his voice was soothing. She felt his cool hand rest on her brow again. Darkness was tugging at her, pulling her into a deep sleep. She could vaguely hear his voice, "I'll stay here with you, don't worry. You're safe now." Before she realized what had happened, she was sleeping soundly.

When she woke the second time, she lay in the bed unmoving for several moments as she collected her thoughts. Steve was alive, and he had just saved her life… again. She sat up slowly, amazed to find that the pain that had been so unbearable before was now nothing more than a dull ache. The antidote had really worked… with Steve's help. Her eyes fell on him, sleeping in a chair beside her bed. Her heart softened as she saw him clearly for the first time. It had been 3 years… and he looked so different... more mature. The rounded face with puppy blue eyes she remembered had developed into a strong jaw-line with handsome ice-blue eyes. Though his eyes were closed now, she could remember them. They were so pale in the chamber… almost… inhuman.

She shook the thought out of her head. He was back. She wasn't going to let anything ruin the joy of having him around again after all this time. But even so, she felt an uneasiness settle over her. There were just some things that didn't add up… If Wesker had taken him for the Veronica Virus, why would he have kept him alive? And how was Steve staying in his human form? And… how…. How was he brought back from the dead…?

Steve shifted, raising his head off the back of the chair. His cold blue eyes blinked open as he yawned and stretched. He stopped mid-yawn, seeing that Claire was conscious again. "Ah, you're awake!"

"I could say the same thing about you," Claire responded, smiling teasingly as he blushed slightly. "Hey, I stayed up all night to make sure your fever wouldn't come back! I think I deserve a little better!" Smiling with her heart full of joy, Claire threw herself into his arms. "Steve, oh God, I thought you were dead! But..." She trailed off and pulled away, looking at him through concerned eyes. "What…. What happened to you? How are you alive? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but….. I watched you die…. You didn't even have a pulse…"

Steve smiled happily. "Well, I was found by a kind scientist… And I wasn't completely dead, just badly injured. I can't explain my pulse, though." He paused and thought about it. "It might have been the virus. I don't really know how it works. But anyway, I was saved, and I'm fine now if I keep to a certain routine." He smiled at her reassuringly. "You won't have to worry about me now."

She hugged him again with all her strength, letting tears roll down her cheeks. "You don't know how much I've missed you…" She felt his arms wrap around her in reciprocation. "I've missed you too, Claire." For a moment they stayed there, enjoying one another's company. Then finally, Steve pulled away with a shy smile.

"What I said to you before…..I…. I meant it… and I still feel the same way…." Claire's eyes softened as she looked at him. "I know. And when I thought…. When I thought you were dead… I realized…." She felt more tears flow freely now. "I-I'm sorry I didn't realize it earlier…." Guilt had built up inside of her—guilt that had tortured her since the day she had seen him draw what she thought had been his last breath. And now that he was here, the guilt was quickly draining, replaced with utter joy and love.

Steve gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and Claire looked up to him with concern. "I want to get out of here with you, but before—" Steve opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "Sorry, what were you going to say?" Claire looked at him expectantly, but he shook his head. "Never mind, continue." She looked at him curiously, but she resumed. "I was going to say that before we leave, I have someone I have to find…" Steve cocked his head questioningly. "You came with someone else?" Claire nodded. "Who?" Sighing, she rubbed her head. "That's the problem. I don't remember."

Steve examined her for a moment, then stood up. "I think I know what to do. Are you strong enough to walk?" He reached out a hand, and she took it. Slowly, and with Steve's support, she managed to stand up. Steve bent down and draped her arm around his shoulder, and they made their way slowly to the door. "I think it'd be best if we both have some defense." He motioned to his belt, where a gun was holstered. Claire nodded, and pulled away from Steve. "I think I'm ok to walk without help… where are my things?" She limped over to the table he pointed to—the counter below the cabinet he had found the antidote in earlier. She picked up her belt and gun holster then looked at the cabinet curiously. "Do you have any herbs in here?" Steve shrugged and she opened the cabinet door. Three green herbs were lined up on the bottom shelf, and she pointed at them. "Can we use these?" He nodded, and she took them, stuffing them into different pouches.

"Why don't you use one now- to help with your limp?" Claire nodded and retrieved one of the plants, quickly shoving some of the leaves in her mouth. She stood leaning against the counter as the aching subsided. When the plant had finished numbing her pain, she pushed herself off the counter and found that she could easily walk at her normal pace. Steve scratched his head, and smiled coyly. "Sorry… I didn't even think of looking for some green herbs for you." She shook her head, "Never mind that, let's get going, shall we?" She joined him at the door, and he turned the knob.

"You ready?" His grey eyes flashed with excitement. "It'll be just like old times. You, me, hordes of zombies." She smiled. "I'm ready whenever you are. Where are we going, anyway?" He opened the door and both jogged out. They stood back-to-back, each with their weapon pointed at the dark ends of a hallway. Soft moans could be heard from the shadows.

"We're going to see someone. A friend of mine."


	4. Chapter 4

As they made their way down the hallway, Claire watched Steve's movements carefully. She was truly overjoyed to see him again, but there was a nagging at the back of her head she just couldn't ignore. Something was off; something was just not quite right. And no matter how much she tried to fight it, her thoughts slowly but surely drifted to the last time she had seen him. His azure eyes had locked with hers moments before his injuries stole him away. Those bright blue eyes were so different from the ones he had now. The grey seemed to be tinted with hollow sorrows and the deepest pain. _Oh Steve…. What did they do to you?_

"I can't believe how abandoned this place looks… The last time I was awake this place was bustling with researchers. I wonder what happened," Steve sighed, glancing at the blood-stained floors and walls. "As if I didn't already know." Claire looked at him carefully. He seemed… sad.

"Are you sorry that this happened? Don't you think they got what the deserved, since they dabbled so carelessly in human testing and other terrible experiments?" Steve shook his head.

"They may have been working on the wrong kind of projects. Sure, they probably should have been working as doctors, but…. They weren't bad people." Steve let a small smile pass over his lips. His eyes glassed over as his mind slipped into memories. "The first researcher I met… Dr. Anthony. He was like a father to me…. Showed me everything and made sure I was comfortable… He even took care of me before I regained consciousness." In the dim light, Claire thought she caught a glimpse of a tear sliding down his cheek. He turned away from her, and there was a moment of silence. "I'm sure you read about it in the journal I left for you…"

A sudden memory flashed through her mind. Someone was there with her, but she couldn't see his face. She could hear his voice in the back of her mind. The same voice who had been with her before she had been knocked out… He handed something to her… a black journal. She couldn't remember anything written on the pages, but she could see the dried blood crusted on the paper, splattered across the neat writing.

"Claire?" Claire jumped as she was brought back to the present. "Claire, are you alright?" Steve's pale eyes peered worriedly into hers, his hands placed gently on her shoulders. She lowered her eyes and nodded. "I…I think I read your journal, but… I….I just don't remember." He smiled softly and pulled her into him. "It's alright. It must be scary not remembering anything." He lifted her chin with his finger, and his eyes met hers. "Don't worry… I'm with you." He kissed her softly on the forehead and she sighed and leaned into him. It felt so reassuring to have him here, his heart beating rhythmically in his chest. For a moment, they stood there together, and all seemed right. The moment was cut short, however, as a loud crashing noise brought them back to the present.

They both turned to watch as a bandersnatch lurched towards them. Steve pulled out his gun and shot three rounds into the grotesque creature. He cursed as his gun jammed. Claire pulled out her own weapon and finished the creature off with a well-aimed bullet in the head. After fixing his gun, Steve turned to Claire. "We should get out of here as fast as we can, Claire. I don't know where my friend is, but I know he hasn't been killed. I just know it. Let's get through these halls as quickly as we can." Claire nodded and followed Steve down the hallway, jogging through corridor after corridor.

They dispatched several zombies as they hurried down the hall, and Claire almost ran into Steve as he stopped dead in his tracks before a corner. She stumbled to a stop behind him, "Steve, what's wrong-" He cupped a hand to her mouth and drew his gun with the other. She jumped as his icy skin touched hers, and raised her gun as well. He threw himself into the wall, pulling her back with him. He looked back at her and raised his finger to his lips. She nodded in acknowledgement and watched as Steve inched closer and closer to the corner. Claire strained her ears and heard a slight rustling noise. Steve prepared to launch a surprise attack on whatever was around the corner. His muscles tensed in preparation, and…

Without warning, a hunter launched itself out from behind the corner, pushing Steve to the ground and biting viciously into his neck. Steve shouted in pain, and Claire shot once, twice, her bullets sinking into the creature's scaly hide. Regaining control of the situation, Steve kicked the hunter off of him and stumbled to his feet. He pressed his hand instinctively against his neck, blood seeping between his fingers and dripping to the ground. With his free hand, he lifted the gun to the stunned hunter's head and shot point blank.

Claire watched as he fell to his knee, his hand clasped over his bloody neck. She ran to his side, pulling out a green herb. She tried to pry his fingers from the wound, but he refused to release his grip. "Steve, let go! The sooner I can treat the wound, the quicker the bleeding will stop! Stop…fighting!" Steve lifted his head. His cold silver eyes stared hard into hers, his pupils nothing more than pinpricks in a sea of ice. "Don't touch me." Claire paused, taken aback by Steve's abruptness. This wasn't like him at all. Something was wrong… something was terribly, terribly wrong. She reached for his neck again, and Steve slapped her hand away. "I SAID DON'T TOUCH ME!" He pulled into himself, blood spewing from his mouth. He coughed, his breathing uneven and raspy.

"Steve!" Claire felt helpless as she watched her friend writhe in pain on the ground before her. He wouldn't let her get close to him, but she wanted to do something. He was transforming…. Maybe not into the monster she had last seen him as, but he wasn't the Steve she knew. His body was reacting unnaturally…. Had he been poisoned?

Steve shook violently and vomited more blood. He looked at Claire, his bloodshot eyes meeting her tear-glazed eyes. "Claire…." He coughed, blood oozing from his mouth. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell at you," More blood spattered to the ground below him as he stood on his hands and knees and vomited again. He closed his eyes as Claire reached a shaky hand to him, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Steve… what's going on?" His eyes opened slowly, and Claire's heart skipped a beat as she saw the familiar red eyes: the eyes of an infected creature. His iris was a crimson red, and his pupils were nothing more than thin black slits. He squeezed his eyes shut and started muttering to himself. "No…no… I won't let this happen. Not now…. No…No!"

Steve's body shook, and Claire slowly realized that between coughs of blood, he was sobbing. Tears pattered to the ground beneath him, and Claire reached out to him. She placed her hand softly on his shoulder to console him, but he pulled away as though her touch burned. "Don't touch me. Don't touch me! DON'T TOUCH ME!" His entire body lurched with a fit of coughs, and Claire inched closer. "Steve…. Please," In a blur of movement, Steve grabbed Claire and pinned her to the floor. Claire stared at him, surprised. His blood red eyes bore into her and paralyzed her with fear. His hands grabbed at her throat and started choking her. Claire struggled for breath, but his powerful hands pushed her to the ground and prevented her from moving. His face was inches from hers, and she could feel his breath as her vision began to blur. She wouldn't last long…

"No! I….I don't want to hurt you! Stay away…. from me….. Claire!" He released her and covered his face in shame and anguish. He scrambled blindly to his feet, slamming into the wall as he began to run away. Claire sat up, holding her neck and breathing heavily. Her entire body shook from fear and shock. That wasn't Steve… Steve was gone. He had almost killed her… He could have if he had wanted to. And yet, he had stopped himself. Was he truly gone?

"Steve! Wait!" Claire followed him as he ran through the halls, a trail of blood leading her along. She didn't know what was going on, and she didn't know what to do. She felt weak: if she had been the one bitten, Steve would have protected her. What was she supposed to do? As she ran, tears streamed from her face; she was alone, vulnerable, and useless. Out of breath, she slowed to a stop and leaned against the wall. Steve was nowhere to be found, he had been swallowed by the darkness.

She looked at the path ahead of her. The drops of blood told her that she was on the right track, but what was the point? She couldn't help him; part of her knew that. But she felt she should still try. Out of breath and emotionally exhausted, Claire dragged herself down the dark corridor. She reached a door and placed her hand on the doorknob, wondering just how far Steve had managed to run from her. But was that really Steve? She couldn't even tell anymore.

Gathering the last bit of her energy, she opened the door and stepped inside the room. The walls were lined with test tubes, embryos of monsters and bodies of once-human figures suspended in columns as Steve had been when she first found him. An observation balcony hung just above the doorway, casting a shadow over half the room. As she looked around the room, her eyes landed on Steve's shuddering form on the ground, convulsing in a pool of his own blood. She stumbled into the open room and fell to her knees beside him.

She wanted to reach out and touch him, hug him… give him comfort. But she didn't want to hurt him. For all she knew her touch was poisoning him, burning his skin. She sat beside him and stared blankly into his pain-stricken eyes. She knew he wasn't seeing anything, he was blinded by the pain. He didn't even realize she was there. She watched him and cried, knowing nothing she could do would help him. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the distant footsteps approach on the balcony above.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Chris's little sister… Claire, isn't it?" A deep growling voice with a hint of a British accent echoed through the room. Claire spun around and stared hard at the man who stood above her. The man had slicked back dirty blonde hair, streaked with light gray hairs that gave his hair a silver tint. He wore a long black trench coat and sported black sunglasses that hid his eyes from the world. Claire pulled out her gun and aimed it at the man. "Wesker!" She tensed her muscles, waiting for an attack. She was caught off guard when another memory passed through her head. Chris sat in her living room, sipping a cup of coffee. "He's gone. Wesker got the death he deserved."

Claire shook her head. Wesker was _dead._ How was he here now? "Stay back!" Her gun shook in her hand, and Wesker smiled. "How are you even here?" Claire shouted. "You were killed!" She glared at him as he started to laugh.

"Killed? By who, your dear brother, Chris? You know as well as I he couldn't take me down single-handedly." Claire shook her head and closed her eyes to clear her head. He was right….but then what about the flash she had just seen? Was her memory just a dream? She couldn't separate her dreams from reality. She looked up at Wesker and fingered the trigger.

"If you shoot me, who else do you think knows what to do with him?" He nodded to Steve on the ground behind Claire. Hatred building up inside of her, the gun clicked in preparation,

"What did you do to him?" She shouted, her tear-stained cheeks shining in the low light. She tensed as Wesker leapt quietly from the balcony and landed lightly on the floor in front of her. "Don't come any closer, I'm warning you!" Wesker chuckled and took a step closer to her, testing her.

"Child, don't you see? You can do nothing for him. I, on the other hand, can save him. I can bring him back to you." A twisted smile formed across the man's face as he saw her lower the gun. Her face was worn and she looked downtrodden and beaten. She seemed to relinquish her will to fight as Wesker walked over to her side. He leaned his head close to hers and whispered in her ear. "Good choice, Redfield." He stepped over to Steve, who lay helpless and paralyzed in his blood. Wesker knelt and held Steve's chin in his hand, lifting it to look at the wound on his neck. Steve's eyes slid to rest on Wesker.

"W-Wesker…" Wesker looked back at Claire and scowled. "How long has he been like this?"

"I…I don't know… he was bitten….about twenty minutes ago." Wesker looked back down at Steve, and Claire took a step closer. "Is…. Is he going to be ok?" Wesker reached into his pocket and withdrew a small needle. He stabbed it into Steve's neck and drew blood. Steve's body tensed as the needle pierced his skin, then his muscles eased and he slipped into a calm sleep. Wesker pulled out another needle and injected something into Steve's body. When he was done, Wesker scooped up Steve's body and motioned for Claire to follow him. She stepped forward and followed him in silence through a door and down a dark hallway. Every inch of her body was urging her to run from Wesker, but she fought the urge and continued bravely to follow him. She had to make sure Steve would be ok. She wouldn't forgive herself if she let him die again.

A blinding pain shot up her spine as she was pushed to the ground by some unseen creature. Wesker wheeled around as Claire yelped and hit the ground, a Doberman pinscher perched dangerously on her back. It had bitten her shoulder and scratched her back when it had launched itself at her. She threw the vicious dog off as Wesker quickly laid Steve down and pulled out his gun, firing several shots into the decaying flesh. The dog yelped and hit the ground hard, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. Wesker stepped over to Claire, who was sitting on the ground, holding her hand to her shoulder wound. He held out a hand to her and she looked at it hesitantly. She still didn't trust him, but he was her only hope. She took his hand and stumbled to her feet. She swayed on her feet and fell forward, landing on Wesker's body. Coldly, he put his hands on her shoulders and roughly pushed her back from him. She tried to stabilize herself, but found that her wound was making her nauseous. Her vision blurred as she staggered backwards into the wall and slipped into unconsciousness.

"Pathetic human…" Wesker stood and looked at the two bodies that lay beside him. They went well together. They were both very weak… too weak to survive in such a brutal world.


End file.
